U.S. patent number 5,199,191 [Application Number 07/710,769] was granted by the patent office on 1993-04-06 for athletic shoe with inflatable mobile inner sole.
Invention is credited to Armenak Moumdjian.
United States Patent |
5,199,191 |
Moumdjian |
April 6, 1993 |
Athletic shoe with inflatable mobile inner sole
Abstract
An athletic shoe has an air pressurizable inner sole received in
a compartment between the sole and the upper so as to be free to
move therein except for the location at which the valve formation
of the inner sole passes through the wall of this compartment.
Inventors: |
Moumdjian; Armenak
(Bourj-Hammud, Beirut, LB) |
Family
ID: |
27517806 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/710,769 |
Filed: |
June 4, 1991 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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608570 |
Nov 2, 1990 |
5112560 |
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295438 |
Jan 10, 1989 |
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74765 |
Jul 17, 1987 |
4845861 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/28; 36/25R;
36/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
13/203 (20130101); B29C 45/006 (20130101); B29D
35/142 (20130101); B29D 35/148 (20130101); B29C
2045/0072 (20130101); B29L 2031/504 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
13/18 (20060101); A43B 13/20 (20060101); B29C
45/00 (20060101); B29D 31/518 (20060101); B29D
31/50 (20060101); A43B 013/18 (); A43B 013/20 ();
A43B 013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/25R,28,29,3R,35B,3B,32R ;264/244,516 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2256945 |
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May 1973 |
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DE |
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3335442 |
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Sep 1983 |
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DE |
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60166414 |
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Feb 1984 |
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JP |
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Primary Examiner: Sewell; Paul T.
Assistant Examiner: Patterson; M. D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dubno; Herbert
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending
application Ser. No. 07/608,750 filed 2 Nov. 1990 (now U.S. Pat.
No. 5,112,560) as a division of Ser. No. 07,/295,438 filed 10 Jan.
1989 (now abandoned) which was a division of Ser. No. 07/074,765
filed 17 Jul. 1987 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,861).
Claims
I claim:
1. An athletic shoe comprising:
an athletic shoe sole having a plate embedded therein over
substantially an entire length of said sole, and a raised rim
extending all around a periphery of said sole and molded unitarily
therewith, said rim having an upwardly extending formation on one
side of said sole;
an athletic shoe upper affixed to said rim of sole around said
periphery thereof, said upper and said sole defining a compartment
between them extending substantially a full length and width of
said sole, said compartment having a peripheral wall bounded by
said rim, said formation overlying said wall;
a hollow flexible inner sole received in said compartment and
having a heel portion, a shank portion, a foot-ball portion and a
toe portion, said inner sole further having a flexible valve
element extending laterally thereof through said wall and said
formation and forming the only location at which said inner sole is
anchored in said compartment, said inner sole being freely movable
within said compartment except at said element; and
at least one checkvalve in said valve formation permitting fluid
pressurization of an interior of said inner sole.
2. The athletic shoe defined in claim 1 wherein said inner sole is
formed with transverse hinge webs interconnecting said foot-ball
portion and said toe portion, said foot-ball portion and said shank
portion, and said heel portion and said shank portion, at least
said hinge webs interconnecting said foot-ball portion with said
toe portion and said foot-ball portion with said shank portion
having passages for fluid communication therebetween.
3. The athletic shoe defined in claim 2 wherein said inner sole is
formed with at least two checkvalves, one of said checkvalves
communicating with said heel portion, the other of said checkvalves
communicating with said shank portion, said foot-ball portion and
said toe portion.
4. The athletic shoe defined in claim 2 wherein said transverse
hinge web interconnecting said heel portion with said shank portion
is formed with a passage for fluid communication therebetween.
5. The athletic shoe defined in claim 2 wherein said shank portion
is subdivided transversely into at least two longitudinal sections
interconnected by a flexible longitudinal web having a passage for
fluid communication therebetween.
6. The athletic shoe defined in claim 2 wherein said shank portion
has three longitudinal sections and two flexible longitudinal webs
interconnecting said sections.
7. The athletic shoe defined in claim 2 wherein said inner sole is
formed from two halves molded from an elastomeric material and
bonded in a median plane of said inner sole.
8. The athletic shoe defined in claim 7 wherein each of said halves
is formed with a central depression at said heel portion formed by
an inwardly extending hollow post of said material, said posts
being bonded together in said plane.
9. The athletic shoe defined in claim 7 wherein each of said halves
is formed on a lateral wall of said inner sole with a
semicylindrical casing aligned with the casing of the other half
and receiving a valve-housing tube between them to constitute said
element.
10. A method of making an athletic shoe, comprising the steps
of:
forming a hollow flexible inner sole having a heel portion, a shank
portion, a foot-ball portion and a toe portion;
retaining said inner sole in a compartment formed by attaching an
athletic shoe upper to an athletic shoe sole along a peripheral
wall of said compartment by introducing a flexible valve formation
laterally through said wall and forming the only location at which
said inner sole is anchored in said compartment, said inner sole
being freely movable within said compartment except at said
formation; and
thereafter inserting two checkvalves in said valve formation
permitting fluid pressurization of an interior of said inner sole,
said inner sole being formed with transverse hinge webs
interconnecting said foot-ball portion and said toe portion, said
foot-ball portion and said shank portion, and said heel portion and
said shank portion, at least said hinge webs interconnecting said
foot-ball portion with said toe portion and said foot-ball portion
with said shank portion having passages for fluid communication
therebetween, one of said checkvalves communicating with said heel
portion, the other of said checkvalves communicating with at least
one of said shank portion, said foot-ball portion and said toe
portion, said sole being assembled from an outer member and an
inner member formed with said peripheral wall.
11. The method defined in claim 10 wherein said inner sole is
formed with transverse hinge webs interconnecting said foot-ball
portion and said toe portion, said foot-ball portion and said shank
portion, and said heel portion and said shank portion, at least
said hinge webs interconnecting said foot-ball portion with said
toe portion and said foot-ball portion with said shank portion
having passages for fluid communication therebetween.
12. The method defined in claim 11 wherein at least two checkvalves
are inserted in said formation, one of said checkvalves
communicating with said heel portion, the other of said checkvalves
communicating with said shank portion, said foot-ball portion and
said toe portion.
13. The method defined in claim 10 wherein said transverse hinge
web interconnecting said heel portion with said shank portion is
formed with a passage for fluid communication therebetween.
14. The method defined in claim 10 wherein said inner sole is
formed from two halves molded from an elastomeric material and
bonded in a median plane of said inner sole.
15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein each of said halves is
formed with a central depression at said heel portion formed by an
inwardly extending hollow post of said material, said posts being
bonded together in said plane.
16. The method defined in claim 14 wherein each of said halves is
formed on a lateral wall of said inner sole with a semicylindrical
casing aligned with the casing of the other half and receiving a
valve-housing tube between them to constitute said formation, said
casings being vulcanized to said valve-housing tube.
17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein said inner sole is
formed from two halves molded from an elastomeric material and
bonded in a median plane of said inner sole by simultaneously
molding an upper half between an upper mold part stationary on a
molding machine and an intermediate mold part thereof, and a lower
half in alignment with said upper half between a vertically movable
lower mold part and said intermediate mold part, withdrawing said
intermediate mold part from between said upper and lower mold
parts, laterally introducing a valve-housing tube between said
halves and raising said valve-housing tube into the casing on said
half on said upper part, raising said lower part to press said
halves together and close said casings on said valve-housing tube,
lightly pressurizing an interior of said inner sole as said halves
are pressed together, fully pressurizing said inner sole and
vulcanizing said halves together, and thereafter depressurizing
said inner sole to atmospheric pressure through said valve-housing
tube and removing said inner sole from said molding machine.
18. The method defined in claim 17, further comprising molding said
sole and embedding at least one metal plate having a thickness of
at most 0.3 mm therein.
19. The method defined in claim 17 wherein said upper is stitched
to said sole to define said compartment.
20. The method defined in claim 17, further comprising assembling
said sole from an outer member and an inner member formed with said
peripheral wall.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
My present invention relates to an athletic shoe having an inner
sole which can be pressurized by a fluid, usually air, and which is
mobile within the shoe. The invention also relates to improvements
in the inner sole, to an improved method of making the shoe and to
apparatus for use in the method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As will be apparent from my aforementioned patent, the art cited
therein and especially U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,131, it is known to
provide a fluid pressurizable sole structure which can be referred
to as an air cushion shoe sole and which is usually molded with the
outsole and/or the upper and can be embedded or otherwise secured
over the greater part of the area of the sole to the structures
between which the air cushion cells are sandwiched.
Various configurations have been developed for air cushion cells as
well. I have discovered, after considerable research in this field
that prior shoemaking techniques for the fabrication of athletic
shoes have resulted in products which are less than satisfactory
both with the ability to highly pressurize the air cushion
structure, and the comfort of the shoe. In particular I have found,
most surprisingly, that the bonding of the air cushion structure or
the molding thereof within the system formed by the outsole and the
shoe upper have created significant problems and drawbacks and that
prior configurations of the air cushion structure have interfered
with comfort and caused problems with respect to the stability of
the shoe.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to
provide an improved athletic shoe with an air cushion insole of
variable pressurization which will be free from the drawbacks
described above.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method
of making an athletic shoe which is more comfortable and can more
readily be pressurized at a wide range of pressures than prior art
athletic shoes.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved
inner sole structure for an athletic shoe.
Still a further object of my invention is to provide improved
apparatus for making an athletic shoe.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to improve upon the
article, method and apparatus disclosed in my aforementioned
copending application and to thereby extend the principles set
forth therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As noted, I have discovered that one of the major problems in
athletic shoes utilizing an air cushion principle is that the air
cushion inner sole is formed unitarily with an outsole or upper or
both by a molding operation or is bonded thereto or is otherwise
prevented from free mobility within the shoe, thereby causing many
of the problems associated with earlier athletic shoes having an
inflatable air cushion structure.
According to the invention, therefore, an athletic shoe can
comprise:
an athletic shoe sole;
an athletic shoe upper affixed to the sole over a periphery
thereof, the upper and the sole defining a compartment between them
extending substantially a full length and width of the sole, the
compartment having a peripheral wall;
a hollow flexible inner sole received in the compartment and having
a heel portion, a shank portion, a foot-ball portion and a toe
portion, the inner sole further having a flexible valve formation
extending laterally thereof through the wall and forming the only
location at which the inner sole is anchored in the compartment,
the inner sole being freely movable within the compartment except
at the formation; and
at least one checkvalve in the valve formation permitting fluid
pressurization of an interior of the inner sole.
Essential to this construction, therefore, is the compartment
extending the full length of the shoe and defined by the sole and
the upper by peripherally attaching the upper to the sole so that
the inner sole formed with the cells which can be pressurized
through the valve has free mobility within the compartment and is
retained exclusively by a valve formation passing through the
peripheral wall of this compartment.
Surprisingly, this configuration allows extremely high pressures to
be built up while maintaining the comfort of the shoe.
According to a feature of the invention, the inner sole is formed
with transverse hinge webs interconnecting the foot-ball portion
and the toe portion, the foot-ball portion and the shank portion,
and the heel portion and the shank portion, at least the hinge webs
interconnecting the foot-ball portion with the toe portion and the
foot-ball portion with the shank portion having passages for fluid
communication therebetween.
The inner sole can be provided with two checkvalves, one of which
can communicate with the heel portion while the other can
communicate with the shank portion, the foot-ball portion and the
toe portion which communicate with one another as described. Still
other checkvalves may be provided if it is desired to separately
pressurize any of these portions. In all cases it is preferred,
however, to have the plurality of checkvalves extend through the
same tubular portion of the inner sole constituting the single
formation traversing the peripheral wall of the compartment and
retaining the inner sole within the compartment. If a single
checkvalve is provided, of course, the heel portion communicates
with the shank portion.
The shank portion should be subdivided transversely into at least
two longitudinal sections interconnected by a flexible longitudinal
web having a passage for fluid communication between the sections.
Three such sections can be provided as separated by two
longitudinal webs formed with respective passages.
Advantageously, the inner sole is formed from two halves molded
from an elastomeric material and bonded in a median plane of the
inner sole.
Each of the halves can be formed with a single central depression
on the heel portion defined by an inwardly extending hollow post of
the material, the posts being bonded together in the median plane.
Each of the halves can be formed, moreover, on a lateral wall of
the inner sole with a semicylindrical casing, the two casings
receiving a valve-housing tube between them.
A method of making an athletic shoe can comprise the steps of:
forming a hollow flexible inner sole having a heel portion, a shank
portion, a foot-ball portion and a toe portion;
retaining the inner sole in a compartment formed by attaching an
athletic shoe upper to an athletic shoe sole along a peripheral
wall of the compartment by introducing a flexible valve formation
laterally through the wall and forming the only location at which
the inner sole is anchored in the compartment, the inner sole being
freely movable within the compartment except at the formation;
and
thereafter inserting at least one checkvalve in the valve formation
permitting fluid pressurization of an interior of the inner
sole.
It has been found to be important to provide the machine which
makes the inner sole with a fixed upper mold part and a movable
lower mold part and to provide means for laterally shifting a valve
housing tube between these mold parts after the intermediate mold
part has been withdrawn as described in my aforementioned copending
application. The latter means is provided to raise the valve
housing tube into the semicylindrical casing formed in the upper
half of the inner sole, whereupon the lower half is raised to press
the two halves together and fuse the casings to the valve housing
tube. Simultaneously, a raw rubber flange can be vulcanized to the
casing halves and to the valve housing tube. The valve housing
tubes and the casing, after molding, are sufficiently flexible to
be inserted through a wall of the compartment, advantageously
formed in a sole liner on the exterior of which the outsole can be
provided. The outsole can have an upwardly extending tab likewise
formed with a hole through which the valve formation can be passed,
whereupon the checkvalve is inserted in this formation to render it
relatively rigid and prevent inward retraction of the
formation.
According to a feature of the method aspect of the invention, as
the mold is closed to press the two halves of the inner sole
together and allow vulcanization of them together, a slight air
pressure is applied through the valve housing tube and the valve
formation. After the mold is fully closed, full pressure can be
supplied before the mold is opened, the interior of the inner sole
is vented to atmospheric pressure through the tube which, in this
state, is free from the valve member inserted subsequently after
assembly of the inner sole to the outer sole and the sole lining as
described.
Thus in the method of the invention, the inner sole is formed from
two halves molded from an elastomeric material and bonded in a
median plane of the inner sole by simultaneously molding an upper
half between an upper mold part stationary on a molding machine and
an intermediate mold part thereof, and a lower half in alignment
with the upper half between a vertically movable lower mold part
and the intermediate mold part, withdrawing the intermediate mold
part from between the upper and lower mold parts, laterally
introducing a valve-housing tube between the halves and raising the
valve-housing tube into the casing on the half on the upper part,
raising the lower part to press the halves together and close the
casings on the valve-housing tube, lightly pressurizing an interior
of the inner sole as the halves are pressed together, fully
pressurizing the inner sole and vulcanizing the halves together,
and thereafter depressurizing the inner sole to atmospheric
pressure through the valve-housing tube and removing the inner sole
from the molding machine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features and advantages of my
invention will become more readily apparent from the following
description, reference being made to the accompanying highly
diagrammatic drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the shoe of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view illustrating the assembly of the
shoe;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section through part of the shoe;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inner sole;
FIG. 5 is a side view thereof;
FIG. 6 is an opposite side view thereof;
FIG. 7 is a section taken along the line VII--VII of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a section along the line VIII--VIII of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is an illustration of steps in the process;
FIG. 10 is an illustration of a subsequent phase in the
process;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating
another embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the insole showing a two-valve
arrangement for separately pressurizing the heel and part of the
shank on the one hand and the remainder of the shank and the sole
portions on the other.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
From FIG. 1 it can be seen that an athletic shoe 10, according to
the invention, can be formed from an upper 11 having a toe box 12 a
vamp 13 and a heel counter 14 as is conventional in athletic shoe
design. According to the invention, an apron 15 can be stitched at
16 to a peripheral wall 17 of a compartment 18 (see FIG. 3). That
peripheral wall may form part of a sole liner 19 along the exterior
of which an outer sole 20 may be applied. The outer sole 20 may be
bonded to the liner and/or secured thereto by a stitch seam 21.
Molded within the outer sole 20 may be a thin metal plate 22
extending the full length of the athletic shoe and having a maximum
thickness of 0.3 mm. This metal plate may be composed of steel.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the outer sole 20 is molded with an
upstanding lug 23 which is also stitched to the peripheral wall 17
and receives a valve formation 24 on an inner sole 25 received
within the compartment 18 and anchored to the remainder of the shoe
exclusively by the flexible valve formation 24 which will be
described in greater detail in connection with FIGS. 4 through
10.
At this point it suffices to note that the inner sole 25 is not
secured within the compartment by any other means and has free
mobility in all directions.
The assembly of the shoe can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3. The
outsole 20, which can be formed on its underside 26 with the usual
embossing to provide secure engagement with the ground or a
gymnasium floor and decorative embossing which is common in
athletic shoes, has, in addition to the embedded insert 22 as
described, a raised rim 27 which can be stitched at 21 to the sole
liner 19. The latter is formed unitarily with the peripheral wall
17 and forms the compartment 18 into which the inner sole 25 is
inserted. From FIG. 2 the apron 15 which is stitched at 16 to the
peripheral wall 17 is also visible as is the bottom 28 of the upper
which forms the top wall of the casing 18. Neither the bottom 28 of
the upper nor the bottom 29 of the liner 19 is bonded to the inner
sole 25 which is, therefore, free to move within the casing.
As is apparent from FIG. 4, the inner sole 25 is subdivided into
four main portions by three transverse webs 30, 31 and 32 forming
flexible hinges between these portions.
These portions are a heel portion 33, a shank portion 34, a
foot-ball or metatarsal portion 35 and a toe portion 36. In the
embodiment illustrated bores 37 for example interconnect these
portions so that all can be pressurized through a valve as will be
described in greater detail below.
The inner sole has a wedge configuration in the sense that the
upper and lower surfaces converge toward one another and toward a
median plane 40 as is best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6.
The heel portion 33 is provided centrally with a single recess 41
defined by a pair of posts 42 which meet in the median plane 40 and
are bonded together at 43. These frustoconical posts ensure that,
upon pressurization of the heel portion with compressed air, the
heel portion will bulge in a uniform annulus around the recess
41.
The shank portion 34 is formed with three longitudinal sections 45,
46 and 47 separated by longitudinal webs 48 and 49 having passages
50 communicating between them. It is possible to provide only two
such longitudinal sections separated by a single longitudinal
web.
The inner sole is formed with the tubular formation 24 which is
constituted by a molded cylindrical casing 51 on the internal
lateral wall of the inner sole provided with a flange 52 and
receiving a valve housing tube 53 to which a disk 54 of raw rubber
is vulcanized in the vulcanization process to provide a finish
flange visible on the outside of the shoe (see FIG. 1). Once the
tube 53 is fused in place and the flange 54 is vulcanized thereto,
the inner sole can be inserted into the shoe as described and a
conventional valve plug 55 can be faced into the tube 53. The valve
plug 55 which is identical to valve plugs used in footballs, soccer
balls and the like, allows pressurization of the inner sole
utilizing a ball-inflation needle to any pressure and then permits
retraction of the needle whereby the valve 55 seals the interior of
the inner sole against the escape of air.
As can be seen from FIG. 8, the casing 51, which is formed
unitarily with the inner sole, is constituted from the butyl rubber
from which the inner sole is vulcanized with two semicylindrical
casing halves 56 which are brought together in the median plane 40
when the upper and lower inner sole halves 59 and 60 are brought
together (compare FIGS. 9 and 10).
As described in my aforementioned copending application, the upper
and lower halves 59 and 60 are molded, e.g. from butyl rubber, the
butyl rubber having been injected or laid in in sheets. The molding
takes place between an upper mold part 61 and a lower mold part 62
and respective sides of an intermediate mold part (not shown) which
is withdrawn after the molding of the upper and lower halves has
been completed. The valve housing tube 53, on a stem 63 of an
inserter 64 is moved laterally into position as represented by the
arrow 65.
To locate the tube 53 in the path of the casing halves 56. The
inserter 64 is then moved upwardly (arrow 66) to seat the tube 63
in the upper casing half 56 without disturbing the latter. The
lower mold part 62 is then raised (arrow 67) to close the casing
halves on one another and permit vulcanization. The closed
condition is represented in FIG. 10 and it can be seen that the
ring 54 is also positioned against the flange 52 and the tube 63
for the vulcanization by the positioner 64. As the molding is
closed, slight pressure is applied through the tube 53 and when the
mold is fully closed full compressed air pressure is applied for
the duration of the vulcanization process (see the aforementioned
copending application).
At the conclusion of the vulcanization process, the inner sole is
inserted into the compartment and the tubular formation passed
through the holes 70 and 71 in the peripheral wall 17 and the lug
23 as described, whereupon the plug 55 is inserted.
In FIG. 11, the tubular formation 70 has not only the valve housing
tube 53 as previously described and, when mounted in the shoe, the
respective checkvalve plug 55 is inserted. In addition, however,
the formation 70 has another tube 71 which can receive a check
valve 55 for pressurizing the heel portion 72 of the inner sole 73
independently of the pressurization of the remainder of the inner
sole through the valve within the tube 53, otherwise the inner tube
has the construction shown in FIG. 4.
In FIG. 12 I have shown a system in which the valve 80 can
pressurize the heel portion 83 and the shank portions 84 and 85
while the shank portion 88 and the sole portions 86 and 87 of the
insole are pressurized through valve 81 within the same valve
formation as valve 80 but via a passage 82.
In general, therefore, I can provide as many valves as may be
desirable for individual pressurization of any of the heel, shank
and sole portions or parts thereof, or any combinations
thereof.
* * * * *